The 2001 vintage

The 2001 vintage is quite late due to bad weather at the end of summer, but remains of very good quality, even excellent for sweet wines. Wines from 2001 are generally more tannic than 2000 and keep better.

Bordeaux :

The winter period is the wettest in 20 years. With the capricious weather, Merlots ripen very slowly – this slowness is always a guarantee of quality and favorable aging. If we combine the three major quality criteria: temperature, insolation and precipitation, 2001 is the most deficit vintage since 1997.

2001 is obviously the year of great terroirs which are producing well with a deep water table and limited yields. Many Saint Emilion and Pomerol wines have reached exceptional levels of quality. The wines offer elegant fruit, rich, voluminous, dense substance, a good level of acidity and tannins as solid as they are distinguished.

Although of a classic style, they perhaps do not offer the substance, the density, the smoothness, nor the depth of the wines of 1998 but rival those of 2000 or even surpass them.

Some wines have still produced classic bottles that will defy time, as is always the case in “downward” vintages. It’s a cold, oceanic vintage, like 2004 and 1988.

Burgundy :

Bad weather spared Burgundy despite a loss of 4% in volume compared to 2000. The results are still honorable, especially for the white wines of the Côte d’Or. As for the Côte de Nuits, the red wines proved to be of medium age but very pleasant with their almost “feminine” delicacy.

Rhône :

If some regions look gloomy, this is not the case for the Rhône Valley. Dry and sunny, the months of July and August provide good conditions for veraison and ripening. The red wines are powerful, tannic and keep very well. The prize of excellence goes to Châteauneuf du Pape.

Champagne :

Flowering on June 20, coolness and rain in July, hail in August,… In 2001, everything came together to spoil the wine of the Champagne region. In addition, in September, the cold and the rain are there. In these conditions, vintage vintages are extremely rare, the collaborators have all focused on the blend.

Our recommendations :

Domaine Julienne Cuvée Réservé 2001

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La Chapelle d’Ausone 2001

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Domaine Comte Liger Belair 2001

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